ARE YOU SERIOUS???

I just saw what is possibly the most twisted and disturbing church web site EVER ...

I've been following all of the coverage on Heath Ledger. One of the stories that came out today is that Westboro Baptist Church out of Kansas is arranging to picket Health Ledger's funeral because of his part in Brokeback Mountian. Seriously? That in and of itself is gross enough. Why would you picket someone's funeral? Why would you add more pain to his greiving family and friends?

So, I Googled this church because I wanted to see what they were about ... OH MY GOD! Their church web site is www.godhatesfags.com No lie. The whole site is about how God hates pretty much everyone and everything ... but mostly the homosexual community. It's so upsetting what is said on the site and how it's worded ... it's almost like you can see this man's furrowed brow and hear the cutting nature of it all.

Is that really the message that he wants to put out there ... that God hates everyone? Yeah, that's going to make me want to believe in God, trust Him, honor Him, serve Him ...

I understand that many people read the Bible and feel that it is very clear cut on the homosexual issue. Personally, I don't know. I think there's alot of grey in that area that I'm working it out in my own heart between God and myself. But, for arguments sake, let's just say that I did decide that homosexuallity is a sin (and again, I'm not saying that it is or it isn't ... that's something you'll have to work out in your own heart) ... aren't we all sinners? The Bible is pretty clear on that. That's the whole reason for atonement ... Christ's death ... if we weren't such a big bunch of sinners, there would have been no need for Jesus to suffer on our behalf.

I am so outraged by this man's message. Yes, I know we all have a right to our opinion and we have a right to share our opinion with others. After all, that is what I'm doing right now ... sharing my opinion. But, I personally don't see the point in attempting to punish a dead man and his family simply because you don't agree with him.

And I'm totally heartbroken that anyone, much less someone who is leading a congragation of other believers, would portray my Lord and Savior as a heateful, spiteful ass hole who does nothing more than look down His nose and abhor His own creation. Genesis 1:27, 31 says, "And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them ... And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

Furthermore, John 3:16-17 states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."

....................................

The God that I serve is, yes, all powerful and He could smite me with nothing more than the blink of His eye ... but He doesn't smite me ... why? Because He loves me so much. He loves me inspite of the fact that I'm me which doesn't look or sound pretty most of the time ... He made me the person that I am because He wanted to have a relationship with the person that I am. And you know what? I don't hate homosexuals. They're not a bunch of pervs, child molestors and sinners as people try to portray them to be ... they are just people. People ... like you, and me, and the teller at the bank ... people. And God loves people. He's the one that thought them up in the first place, gave them free will, and ultimately, sent His son to die in order to save us from eternal separation from Him. If that sounds like hate to you, you're entitled to your opinion. To me that sounds alot like LOVE ...

John 4:8-11 says, " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

I'm so fired up about this right now. I better stop writting before I start to get hateful like the folks at Westboro Baptist Church.

I'll end with this ... And then people wonder why my generation is running away from chruch as fast as their feet will carry them. Organized religion needs to re-read their Bible and get a grip on realtiy.

It's not supposed to be about hate. It's all about God ... and God is LOVE.